Air-bearing surface designs with a curved trailing air flow dam

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are slider designs having improved trailing air flow dams, and data storage devices including such sliders. In some embodiments, a slider comprises a trailing edge and an air-bearing surface (ABS) comprising a trailing edge pad, and a trailing air flow dam coupled to the trailing edge pad, wherein, in an ABS view of the slider, the trailing air flow dam is recessed from and curves away from the trailing edge. In the ABS view, a shape of the trailing air flow dam may comprise two segments. The slider also has a leading edge and may at least one sub-ambient pressure cavity adjacent to the trailing air flow dam and disposed between the trailing air flow dam and the leading edge. A contact point of the trailing air flow dam may be at least 50 microns from a corner of the slider.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of, and hereby incorporates byreference for all purposes the entirety of the contents of, co-pendingU.S. application Ser. No. 16/369,710, filed Mar. 29, 2019 and entitled“AIR-BEARING SURFACE DESIGNS WITH A CURVED TRAILING AIR FLOW DAM”.

BACKGROUND

Certain types of data storage devices, such as, for example, magnetichard disk drives, include a ramp located near the outer circumference ofa magnetic disk. The ramp provides a region into which a slider thatcarries the read/write transducer(s) is retracted when the disk is notbeing accessed.

After being loaded from the ramp to the magnetic disk, and while theslider is in the vicinity of the ramp, the flying posture of the slidercan be unstable. For example, the slider can pitch and roll more in thisregion than it typically does when flying over other portions of thedisk. Accordingly, there is a higher probability that the slider willcontact the recording surface of the magnetic disk in this region of thedisk, potentially causing damage to the recording surface. Thus, in thevicinity of the ramp, near the outer circumference of the magnetic disk,an area of the disk may be unused for recording due to thehigher-than-typical potential for contact between the slider and therecording surface when the slider moves on and off the ramp.

Because the ramp and the unused area of the recording surface are nearthe outer circumference of the disk, a relatively large portion of therecording surface may be unused for recording. Consequently, there is anongoing need to reduce the size of the area of the recording surfacethat is unused because of the relatively higher potential of the slidermaking contact with the recording surface in this region.

SUMMARY

This summary represents non-limiting embodiments of the disclosure.

Disclosed herein are slider designs that enable designers of datastorage devices, such as hard disk drives, to set aside less of therecording surface as unused because of the potential for contact betweenthe slider and the recording surface. Also disclosed are data storagedevices comprising such sliders.

The disclosed sliders include a trailing air flow dam that is at leastpartially recessed from the trailing edge and from the inner- and/orouter-diameter edges of the slider, thereby shifting the points of theslider that are most likely to contact the recording surface away fromthe corners of the slider air-bearing surface (ABS). As a result, whenthe slider transitions onto or off of the ramp, if it does contact therecording surface, it is more likely to do so within a narrower part ofthe recording surface than a conventional slider. Assuming the unusedarea is an annulus extending inward from at or near the outercircumference of the disk, the distance between the outer and innercircles bounding the annulus can be reduced (i.e., the circumference ofthe inner circle can be larger) when the disclosed slider designs areused. Consequently, the area set aside as unused due to the likelihoodof contact with the slider can be reduced. Stated another way, the newslider designs allow more of the recording surface to be used for datastorage.

In some embodiments, a slider comprises a trailing edge, and anair-bearing surface (ABS) comprising a trailing edge pad and a trailingair flow dam coupled to the trailing edge pad. In some embodiments, inan ABS view of the slider, the trailing air flow dam is recessed fromand curves away from the trailing edge. In some embodiments, thetrailing edge pad comprises a read/write transducer.

In some embodiments, the slider further comprises a leading edge, andthe ABS further comprises at least one sub-ambient pressure cavityadjacent to the trailing air flow dam and disposed between the trailingair flow dam and the leading edge. In some such embodiments, a depth ofthe at least one sub-ambient pressure cavity with respect to a surfaceof the trailing edge pad is between approximately 0.5 microns andapproximately 2 microns. In some embodiments in which the ABS furthercomprises at least one sub-ambient pressure cavity, a surface of the atleast one sub-ambient pressure cavity is substantially flat and/orsubstantially smooth.

In some embodiments, a contact point of the trailing air flow dam is atleast 50 microns from a corner of the slider.

In some embodiments, the ABS further comprises a recessed surfacedisposed between the trailing air flow dam and the trailing edge,wherein, relative to a surface of the trailing edge pad, a depth of therecessed surface is between approximately 0.5 microns and approximately5 microns.

In some embodiments, in the ABS view of the slider, the trailing airflow dam comprises at least two segments. In some embodiments in whichthe trailing air flow dam comprises at least two segments, at least oneof the at least two segments is substantially linear. In someembodiments in which the trailing air flow dam comprises at least twosegments, at least one of the at least two segments is at an acute anglefrom the trailing edge. In some embodiments in which the trailing airflow dam comprises at least two segments, a first segment of the atleast two segments is at a first acute angle from the trailing edge, anda second segment of the at least two segments is at a second acute anglefrom the trailing edge, wherein the first and second acute angles aredifferent.

In some embodiments, in the ABS view of the slider, the trailing airflow dam has an curved shape.

In some embodiments, a media-facing surface of the trailing air flow damis substantially flat. In some embodiments, a media-facing surface ofthe trailing air flow dam is substantially smooth.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of a media-facing surface of thetrailing air flow dam is recessed from a surface of the trailing edgepad. In some such embodiments, relative to a surface of the trailingedge pad, a depth of the at least a portion of the media-facing surfaceof the trailing air flow dam is between approximately 0.05 microns andapproximately 0.25 microns.

In some embodiments, the slider further comprises at least one recessedsurface disposed between the trailing air flow dam and the trailingedge. In some such embodiments, relative to a surface of the trailingedge pad, a depth of the at least one recessed surface is betweenapproximately 0.5 microns and approximately 5 microns.

In some embodiments, the curve away from the trailing edge is monotonic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Objects, features, and advantages of the disclosure will be readilyapparent from the following description of certain embodiments taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary plan view schematically illustrating aconfiguration of a data storage device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a slider with a conventional trailing air flow dam.

FIG. 3 illustrates a slider with a curved trailing air flow dam inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4A is a closer view of the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam andthe outer-diameter trailing air flow dam of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4B is a view of an inner-diameter trailing air flow dam and anouter-diameter trailing air flow dam in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates the locations of the likely contact points in sliderswithout and with the trailing air flow dams disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates the improvement in the outer-diameter glide marginthat results in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are data storage device slider designs that increasethe storage capacity of a data storage device, such as, for example, amagnetic disk drive, by reducing the area of the recording surface of amagnetic disk that is set aside and/or unused due to the potential forcontact with a slider near the ramp, thereby increasing the area of therecording surface that is available to store data.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a configuration of anexemplary data storage device, namely a magnetic hard disk drive 10, inaccordance with some embodiments. A magnetic disk 50 and a head supportmechanism 15 are mounted on a base 11. A slider 100 is mounted on thetip side of the head support mechanism 15. The slider 100 pivotallymoves about a pivot shaft 17 in a direction of an arrow A or B. Theslider 100 includes a magnetic read/write transducer (also referred toas a head). A lift tab 19 is formed at the tip of the head supportmechanism 15. When the disk 50 is not being accessed for reading orwriting, the lift tab 19 is “parked” on a ramp 21. The ramp 21 has aninclined plane that extends upward from the surface of the disk 50. Inthe exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the ramp 21 extends out over thedisk 50. In other embodiments, the ramp 21 may not extend out over thedisk 50 due to, for example, lack of room.

To access the disk 50, the slider 100 is “loaded” from the ramp 21. Thehead support mechanism 15 rotates in the direction of the arrow B, andthe lift tab 19 moves down the inclined plane of the ramp 21 andeventually leaves the ramp 21. When the disk access is complete, theslider 100 is “unloaded” onto the ramp 21. The head support mechanism 15rotates in the direction of the arrow A, and the lift tab 19 makescontact with and slides up the inclined plane of the ramp 21 so that theslider 100 is withdrawn. The process of using the ramp 21 to move theslider 100 into position for recording or reading, and, when done, towithdraw the slider 100 from the magnetic disk 50 is called“loading/unloading” or simply “load/unload.”

Whether moving in the direction of the arrow A or the arrow B, while thelift tab 19 is in contact with the ramp 21 in the exemplary disk drive10 of FIG. 1, the airflow on the surface of the magnetic disk 50provides a lifting force on an air bearing surface (ABS) of the slider100. Because the slider 100 is under the influence of the airflow at thesame time the lift tab 19 and ramp 21 are supporting the slider 100, thebehavior of the slider 100 is generally unstable when the lift tab 19 isin contact with the ramp 21. In some circumstances, the slider 100 canmake contact with the disk 50 while it is parked on the ramp 21.Accordingly, data typically is not written to or read from any portionof the disk 50 that resides under the ramp 21.

In addition, during the loading process, immediately after the lift tab19 loses contact with the ramp 21, the behavior of the slider 100 isalso unstable. Accordingly, when the lift tab 19 loses contact with theramp 21, the slider 100 remains in a state in which it is more likely totouch the recording surface of the magnetic disk 50 than when it fliesover the portions of the disk 50 in which it reads and writes data.Therefore, data typically is also not written to the area of the disk 50near the end of the ramp 21.

An additional source of instability arises when the slider 100 fliesnear the edge of the disk 50. In this location, because of, for example,burnishing, debris, uneven air pressure, and/or suboptimal air speed,the flight characteristics of the slider 100 are not as stable as whenthe slider 100 flies further away from the edge of the disk 50. Inextreme cases, the conditions near the edge of the disk 50 can cause theslider 100 to lose air pressure and become unstable, potentiallystriking the disk 50.

Because of the generally cuboid shape of prior-art sliders, as a resultof the instabilities in the slider 100 flight characteristics under theabove-mentioned circumstances, there is, with prior-art sliders, arelatively high probability that a corner of the slider 100 (which neednot be a corner of a cuboid but is typically close to where such acorner would be) will make contact with the disk 50 while on the ramp 21and/or during the load/unload process, which is a phenomenon sometimesreferred to as “corner touchdown.” Therefore, typically an annularregion of the disk 50 near its outer edge, including near and under theramp 21, is designated as a “non-data area” and is unused for datastorage. Because the non-data area of the disk 50 is nearest to theouter circumference of the disk 50, the non-data area can correspond toa large and valuable region of the recording surface. Thus, it isdesirable to reduce the size of the non-data area.

Disclosed herein are slider designs that reduce the likelihood of cornertouchdown during loading and unloading, and while the slider is on theramp 21 or near the outer edge of the disk 50. These designs shiftinward the likely touchdown points from their typical locations at ornear the corners of the trailing edge of the slider. By moving the morelikely touchdown points inward, the outer portions of the slider, suchas its corners, are less likely to make contact with the disk 50 duringloading and unloading and while the slider is parked on the ramp 21.Stated another way, by moving the likely contact points, shifting themfrom the slider's corners and away from the inner and outer edges of theslider, the slider can roll more during the load/unload process andwhile on the ramp 21 without its outer extremities making contact withthe disk 50. As a result, the size of the non-data area of the disk 50can be reduced, thereby increasing the area available for the storage ofdata.

FIG. 2 illustrates a slider 100A that does not include the curvedtrailing air flow dam disclosed herein. The slider 100A has a leadingedge 120, a trailing edge 125, an outer-diameter edge 135 extendingbetween the leading edge 120 and the trailing edge 125, and aninner-diameter edge 130 that also extends between the leading edge 120and the trailing edge 125. The slider 100A has a trailing edge pad 140,which is where the read/write transducer resides. The slider 100A alsohas an inner corner 132 and an outer corner 137 near the trailing edge125. Because of the pitch of the slider 100A when it flies (i.e., withthe leading edge 120 further away from the recording surface than thetrailing edge), the inner corner 132 and the outer corner 137 are theparts of the slider 100A most likely to strike the recording surface ofthe disk 50 during the load/unload process and immediately afterloading. One objective of the disclosed embodiments is to change thelocation of the part of the slider that is most likely to strike therecording surface of the disk 50.

FIG. 3 illustrates a slider 100B with a curved trailing air flow dam inaccordance with some embodiments. The following description of FIG. 3refers to an inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and anouter-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 as separate entities. It is tobe appreciated that the inner- and outer-diameter trailing air flow dams150, 160 can be considered to be two portions of a single trailing airflow dam coupled to the trailing edge pad 140.

Like the slider 100A of FIG. 2, the slider 100B has a leading edge 120,a trailing edge 125, an outer-diameter edge 135 extending between theleading edge 120 and the trailing edge 125, and an inner-diameter edge130 that also extends between the leading edge 120 and the trailing edge125. The slider 100B also has a trailing edge pad 140 with a read/writetransducer. Unlike the slider 100A, the slider 100B includes aninner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and an outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160. As FIG. 3 illustrates, both the inner-diametertrailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam160 are recessed from and curve away from the trailing edge 125.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam150 has a media-facing surface 215B that is substantially flat andsmooth. Likewise, the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 has amedia-facing surface 215A that is substantially flat and smooth. Themedia-facing surfaces 215A and 215B are referred to as “media-facing”because when the slider 100B is in operation, the surfaces 215A and 215Bare substantially opposite the recording surface of the disk 50. Inother embodiments, the media-facing surfaces 215A, 215B may be non-flat(e.g., sloped, curved, etc.) and/or non-smooth (e.g., with holes,protrusions, etc.). In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, when the ABS190 of the slider is oriented upward as shown in FIG. 3, themedia-facing surfaces 215A and 215B are recessed from the surface of thetrailing edge pad 140. In some embodiments, each of the media-facingsurfaces 215A, 215B is at a depth of between approximately 0.05 micronsand approximately 0.25 microns below the surface of the trailing edgepad 140 in the orientation of the slider 100B in which the ABS 190 isoriented upward. In other embodiments, the media-facing surfaces 215A,215B are not recessed from the surface of the trailing edge pad 140.

The slider 100B includes a sub-ambient pressure cavity 180B that isdisposed adjacent to and upstream of the outer-diameter trailing airflow dam 160, and a sub-ambient pressure cavity 180A that is disposedadjacent to and upstream of the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam150. In other words, the ABS 190 of the exemplary slider 100B includestwo sub-ambient pressure cavities 180A, 180B that are, respectively,between the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the leadingedge 120 and between the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 andthe leading edge 120.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the ABS 190 of the exemplary slider 100B isoriented upward, the surface of each of the sub-ambient pressurecavities 180A, 180B is recessed relative to the surface of the trailingedge pad 140. The amounts by which the surfaces of the sub-ambientpressure cavities 180A, 180B are recessed may be the same as ordifferent from each other. In some embodiments, the depth of the surfaceof each of the sub-ambient pressure cavities 180A, 180B, relative to thesurface of the trailing edge pad 140, is between approximately 0.5microns and approximately 2 microns below the surface of the trailingedge pad. Moreover, the surfaces of the sub-ambient pressure cavities180A, 180B may be flat and smooth (as shown in FIG. 3), or non-flat(e.g., sloped, curved, etc.) and/or not smooth (e.g., with holes,protrusions, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 3, the exemplary slider 100B has several recessedsurfaces 205A, 205B, 205C, and 205D disposed between the outer-diametertrailing air flow dam 160, the outer-diameter edge 135, and the trailingedge 125, and it similarly has several recessed surfaces 205E, 205F,205G, and 205H disposed between the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam150, the inner-diameter edge 130, and the trailing edge 125. When theABS 190 of the slider 100B is oriented upward as shown in FIG. 3, atleast one of the recessed surfaces 205A, 205B, 205C, 205D, 205E, 205F,205G, 205H is at a depth of between approximately 0.5 microns andapproximately 5 microns below the surface of the trailing edge pad 140.

FIG. 4A is a closer, ABS view of the inner-diameter trailing air flowdam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 of theexemplary slider 100B shown in FIG. 3. The inner-diameter trailing airflow dam 150 in the exemplary slider 100B has two portions (orsegments), 152A and 152B. The portion 152A extends in a direction 155Afrom the trailing edge pad 140 toward the inner-diameter edge 130 at anangle 159A from the trailing edge 125 (i.e., the direction 155A is notparallel to the trailing edge 125). In the exemplary embodiment of FIG.4A, the angle 159A is an acute angle. The portion 152B of theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 extends in a direction 155Btoward the inner-diameter edge 130 at an angle 159B from the trailingedge 125 (i.e., the direction 155B is also not parallel to the trailingedge 125). Like the angle 159A, the angle 159B is an acute angle. In theexemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the angle 159B is larger than theangle 159A, and the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 curves awayfrom the trailing edge 125.

Similarly, the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 in the exemplaryslider 100B has two portions (or segments), 162A and 162B. The portion162A extends in a direction 165A from the trailing edge pad 140 towardthe outer-diameter edge 135 at an angle 169A from the trailing edge 125(i.e., the direction 165A is not parallel to the trailing edge 125). Inthe exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4A, the angle 169A is an acute angle.The portion 162B of the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 extendsin a direction 165B toward the outer-diameter edge 135 at an angle 169Bfrom the trailing edge 125 (i.e., the direction 165B is also notparallel to the trailing edge 125). Like the angle 169A, the angle 169Bis an acute angle, but, in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4A, theangle 169B is larger than the angle 169A. The outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 curves away from the trailing edge 125 (as does theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150).

As shown in FIG. 4A, at least a portion of both the inner-diametertrailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam160 is recessed from the trailing edge 125. For example, the entiretiesof the portions 152B and 162B are recessed from the trailing edge 125,and the portions 152A and 162A are also recessed from the trailing edge125 because of where they contact the trailing edge pad 140 and becauseof their orientations in the directions 155A and 165A (at angles 159Aand 169A from the trailing edge 125), respectively. Although FIG. 4Ashows the entireties of the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 andthe outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 being recessed from thetrailing edge 125, part of one or both of the inner-diameter trailingair flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 mayextend to the trailing edge 125. As just one example, the most rearwardportions of the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and theouter-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 may extend to the trailing edge125 such as, for example, where they are nearest (e.g., coupled to) thetrailing edge pad 140. Even if not all of the inner-diameter trailingair flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 isrecessed from the trailing edge 125, at least some portion of theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 is recessed from the trailing edge 125 such that theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 curve away from the trailing edge 125.

FIG. 4B is an ABS view of another inner-diameter trailing air flow dam150 and another outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 in accordancewith some embodiments. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 have the shape of an arc. Specifically, theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 comprises an arc 195A and theouter-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 comprises an arc 195B.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show two exemplary shapes for the inner-diametertrailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam160. It is to be understood that the illustrated shapes are merelyexamples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and/or the outer-diametertrailing air flow dam 160 may have more or fewer segments 152, 162 thanshown in FIG. 4A. As a specific example, the inner-diameter trailing airflow dam 150 and/or the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 mayhave as few as a single segment 152, 162 that extends at a single angle159, 169 from the trailing edge 125. (In this case, curving away fromthe trailing edge 125 reduces to simply extending away from the trailingedge 125 at a single angle.) As another example, the inner-diametertrailing air flow dam 150 and/or the outer-diameter trailing air flowdam 160 may have three or more segments 152, 162. As another example,the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and/or the outer-diametertrailing air flow dam 160 can have a more complicated curvature thanshown in FIG. 4B, such as by including multiple curved portions, or amix of curved and non-curved portions. As another example, each of theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 may have, in an ABS view, a smoothly curved shapeextending away from the trailing edge 125. In general, theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 can have any shape and configuration that results inthem curving away from the trailing edge 125 as they extend toward,respectively, the inner-diameter edge 130 and the outer-diameter edge135. Specifically, any shape that can be realized in a photolithographicprocess (e.g., down to dimensions of a few microns) can be used.Furthermore, it is to be understood that the inner-diameter trailing airflow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 need notcurve monotonically away from the trailing edge 125. It is sufficientthat at least a portion of each of the inner-diameter trailing air flowdam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 curves orextends away from the trailing edge 125 as described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates the locations of the likely contact points in sliderswithout (upper) and with (lower) the inner-diameter trailing air flowdam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160. The upperportion of FIG. 5 is a close-up view of the trailing-edge portion of aslider, such as, for example, the slider 100A of FIG. 2, that does notinclude the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and theouter-diameter trailing air flow dam 160. As shown, the likely contactpoints 220A and 220B, encircled by octagons, are near the corners of theslider. The lower portion of FIG. 5 is the portion of the slider 100Bshown in FIG. 4A, illustrating the inner-diameter trailing air flow dam150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160 described in thecontext of FIG. 4A. As shown in FIG. 5, the effect of the designs of theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160 is to shift the likely contact points 220A and 220Btoward the trailing edge pad 140, i.e., closer to the middle of thetrailing edge 124. As a result of the use of the inner-diameter trailingair flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam 160, thecontact point 220A is a distance 210A from the inner corner 132 of thesider 100B, and the contact point 220B is a distance 210B from the outercorner 137. The distances 210A, 210B may be selected to meet variousdesign constraints and considerations, including, for example, a desiredor maximum width of an annulus defining the non-data area of the disk50. In some embodiments, at least one of the distances 210A, 210B isgreater than approximately 50 microns. In some embodiments, at least oneof the distances 210A, 210B is at least 200 microns.

FIG. 6 illustrates the improvement in the outer-diameter glide marginthat results in accordance with some embodiments having theinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailingair flow dam 160. The left-hand side of FIG. 6 shows a slider, such as,for example, the slider 100A shown in FIG. 2, that does not include thecurved inner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the curvedouter-diameter trailing air flow dam 160. As shown, in flight the slider100A has an outer-diameter glide margin 225A. In comparison, theright-hand side FIG. 6 shows the slider 100B and the curvedinner-diameter trailing air flow dam 150 and the curved outer-diametertrailing air flow dam 160. As shown, the result of the inner-diametertrailing air flow dam 150 and the outer-diameter trailing air flow dam160 being recessed from and curving away from the trailing edge 125, theouter-diameter glide margin 225B is significantly larger than for theslider 100A.

In the foregoing description and in the accompanying drawings, specificterminology has been set forth to provide a thorough understanding ofthe disclosed embodiments. In some instances, the terminology ordrawings may imply specific details that are not required to practicethe invention.

To avoid obscuring the present disclosure unnecessarily, well-knowncomponents (e.g., of a disk drive) are shown in block diagram formand/or are not discussed in detail or, in some cases, at all.

Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are to be giventheir broadest possible interpretation, including meanings implied fromthe specification and drawings and meanings understood by those skilledin the art and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc. As setforth explicitly herein, some terms may not comport with their ordinaryor customary meanings.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms“a,” “an” and “the” do not exclude plural referents unless otherwisespecified. The word “or” is to be interpreted as inclusive unlessotherwise specified. Thus, the phrase “A or B” is to be interpreted asmeaning all of the following: “both A and B,” “A but not B,” and “B butnot A.” Any use of “and/or” herein does not mean that the word “or”alone connotes exclusivity.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, phrases of theform “at least one of A, B, and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “oneor more of A, B, or C,” and “one or more of A, B, and C” areinterchangeable, and each encompasses all of the following meanings: “Aonly,” “B only,” “C only,” “A and B but not C,” “A and C but not B,” “Band C but not A,” and “all of A, B, and C.”

To the extent that the terms “include(s),” “having,” “has,” “with,” andvariants thereof are used in the detailed description or the claims,such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising,” i.e., meaning “including but not limited to.” The terms“exemplary” and “embodiment” are used to express examples, notpreferences or requirements.

The terms “over,” “under,” “between,” and “on” are used herein refer toa relative position of one feature with respect to other features. Forexample, one feature disposed “over” or “under” another feature may bedirectly in contact with the other feature or may have interveningmaterial. Moreover, one feature disposed “between” two features may bedirectly in contact with the two features or may have one or moreintervening features or materials. In contrast, a first feature “on” asecond feature is in contact with that second feature.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and the dimensions, shapes,and sizes of the features may differ substantially from how they aredepicted in the drawings.

Although specific embodiments have been disclosed, it will be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the disclosure. Forexample, features or aspects of any of the embodiments may be applied,at least where practicable, in combination with any other of theembodiments or in place of counterpart features or aspects thereof.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A slider, comprising: a trailing edge; and anair-bearing surface (ABS) comprising: a trailing edge pad, and atrailing air flow dam coupled to the trailing edge pad, wherein, in anABS view of the slider, (a) the trailing air flow dam is recessed fromand curves away from the trailing edge, and (b) the trailing air flowdam comprises at least two segments, wherein a first segment of the atleast two segments is at a first acute angle from the trailing edge, anda second segment of the at least two segments is at a second acute anglefrom the trailing edge.
 2. The slider recited in claim 1, furthercomprising a leading edge, and wherein the ABS further comprises atleast one sub-ambient pressure cavity adjacent to the trailing air flowdam and disposed between the trailing air flow dam and the leading edge.3. The slider recited in claim 2, wherein a depth of the at least onesub-ambient pressure cavity relative to a surface of the trailing edgepad is between approximately 0.5 microns and approximately 2 microns. 4.The slider recited in claim 2, wherein a surface of the at least onesub-ambient pressure cavity is (a) substantially flat, (b) substantiallysmooth, or (c) both substantially flat and substantially smooth.
 5. Theslider recited in claim 2, wherein the ABS further comprises a recessedsurface disposed between the trailing air flow dam and the trailingedge, wherein, relative to a surface of the trailing edge pad, a depthof the recessed surface is between approximately 0.5 microns andapproximately 5 microns.
 6. The slider recited in claim 1, wherein atleast one of the at least two segments is substantially linear.
 7. Theslider recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second acute angles aredifferent.
 8. The slider recited in claim 1, wherein the curve away fromthe trailing edge is monotonic.
 9. A data storage device comprising theslider recited in claim
 1. 10. A slider, comprising: a trailing edge;and an air-bearing surface (ABS) comprising: a trailing edge pad, and atrailing air flow dam coupled to the trailing edge pad, wherein, in anABS view of the slider, the trailing air flow dam is recessed from andcurves away from the trailing edge, and wherein a contact point of thetrailing air flow dam is at least 50 microns from a trailing corner ofthe slider.
 11. The slider recited in claim 10, wherein, in the ABS viewof the slider, the trailing air flow dam comprises at least twosegments.
 12. The slider recited in claim 11, wherein at least one ofthe at least two segments is at an acute angle from the trailing edge.13. The slider recited in claim 10, wherein, in the ABS view of theslider, at least a portion of the trailing air flow dam has an arcedshape.
 14. The slider recited in claim 10, wherein the trailing edge padcomprises a read/write transducer.
 15. The slider recited in claim 10,wherein a media-facing surface of the trailing air flow dam issubstantially flat.
 16. The slider recited in claim 10, wherein amedia-facing surface of the trailing air flow dam is substantiallysmooth.
 17. The slider recited in claim 10, wherein at least a portionof a media-facing surface of the trailing air flow dam is recessed froma surface of the trailing edge pad.
 18. The slider recited in claim 17,wherein, relative to a surface of the trailing edge pad, a depth of theat least a portion of the media-facing surface of the trailing air flowdam is between approximately 0.05 microns and approximately 0.25microns.
 19. The slider recited in claim 10, further comprising at leastone recessed surface disposed between the trailing air flow dam and thetrailing edge.
 20. The slider recited in claim 19, wherein, relative toa surface of the trailing edge pad, a depth of the at least one recessedsurface is between approximately 0.5 microns and approximately 5microns.